Planet Fitness appoints Steve Beard to board to bolster governance amid national expansion

Planet Fitness names healthcare-education chief to strengthen board oversight

Planet Fitness appoints Steve Beard to its board of directors, naming the Covista Inc. chairman and CEO to an immediate seat as the company expands its governance team to nine directors. The announcement, issued from Hampton, New Hampshire via PRNewswire on Feb. 9, 2026, frames the hire as a strategic governance addition intended to support Planet Fitness’s national expansion and member retention objectives.

Beard is joining Planet Fitness after leading a strategic transformation at Covista (formerly Adtalem Global Education) to focus exclusively on healthcare education. During his tenure, Covista becomes America’s largest healthcare educator, operating five accredited institutions that serve about 97,000 students and roughly 385,000 alumni across disciplines from nursing to behavioral health and veterinary medicine. Planet Fitness says Beard’s operational rigor and legal expertise will strengthen board oversight of risk, talent and long-term returns as the company scales.

Planet Fitness highlights Beard’s broader leadership credentials and sector recognition as reasons for the appointment. Beard is recently named to the 2025 TIME100 Health list and previously serves as Covista’s chief operating officer and general counsel. His earlier career includes more than a decade at global executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles — rising to chief administrative officer after serving as general counsel — and beginnings in corporate and securities law focused on mergers, acquisitions and governance for regulated industries.

Industry governance boost seen as strategic for growth

The hire reflects a wider trend in the fitness and consumer services sector toward strengthening board expertise in operations, talent management and regulatory oversight as chains pursue rapid footprint expansion. Planet Fitness, one of the largest and fastest-growing fitness center operators with more members than any other fitness brand, signals that it values outside experience in large-scale educational and service operations to help manage growth-related risks.

Board composition and immediate implications

Planet Fitness frames the appointment as complementary to its existing board skill set and says Beard’s mix of operational, legal and talent-management experience is expected to aid oversight of national rollout plans and member retention strategies. The company presents the move as part of ongoing efforts to align corporate governance with its long-term growth strategy.